Reviews by motorhed:

This beer has been aged in my cellar since purchase. Wanted to see how it would change with age. It's probably past it's prime.

A - Pours jet black with a medium tan color head. Light lacing on glass and the head dissipated quickly.

S - Very sweet blackberry, currant, with espresso lightly in the background. The coffee has really mellowed out since last time i had this and the sweet berry smells are overpowering everything else.

T - The taste of this beer now reminds me of a chocolate covered blackberry mixed with espresso. Definately get the a smooth coffee finish but has mellowed out significantly since it was bottled. Alcohol present on the finish.

M - Smooth and perfect level of carbonation for the style, in my opinion. Can get the alcohol a bit on the backend.

O - Overall, at the time of release, this was one of my favorite Surly beers however it has changed significantly from what i had remembered. It's still a fabulous milk stout but in my opinion, this beer is past it's prime, so if anyone has any, you should consider consuming it now. I'm very surprised at how sweet/tart this beer has converted to, i dont remember it being so sweet orginally - most likely because the espresso was stronger and balanced it better.

Drinkability: Not as sweet for a milk stout as I am used to. The sweetness at the end is nice to ease the taste back from the really strong and bitter coffee taste--almost comparable to Bells Java. Not a bad beer, but I have had much better in the style. Worth a try if you are more looking for a regular stout.

Thanks to chewy08rx for sending me this beer as part of a big box full of Surly beers.

The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma has a ton of strong coffee and chocolate notes, with some light smoke and heavily roasted malt.

The flavor is more complex. I get a lot of coffee and lactose, as well as some roasted malt and some light chili pepper notes. Overall, the beer tastes quite a bit like malted milk balls. The alcohol is very well hidden and the beer is extremely drinkable and enjoyable.

Thick, heavy, full mouthfeel and low carbonation. A great beer. Glad I got to try it.

Taste: Dried out molasses, roasted barley, coffee, cream, chocolate and a light touch of citrus hops. There is also a nice level of smokiness and it almost seems as if it was barrel-aged, but I do not believe that it was.

A: Poured from a 750ml waxed bottle into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass. Pours borderline black with a huge mocha colored head and phenomenal lacing, coating the glass.

S: Chocolate, burnt malts and heavy espresso

T: The first thing that seems to hit you is a bitterness from the dark roasted malts and the espresso. This is followed by a nice coffee flavor with hints of chocolate and vanilla. On the back end there is a touch of sweetness from the lactose.

M: Medium bodied, smooth and well carbonated for the style. I'm finding a lot of coffee stouts to be more carbonated than your normal stouts.

D: Pretty good I suppose, since I finished off the bottle myself with no problem. I don't think I would want any more in one sitting though. It's not really a heavy beer but it is a little bit on the rich side.

Pours black with a one-finger light brown head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of strong roasted coffee backed by mildly sweet roasted malts. As it warms hints of dark chocolate aromas work their way into things.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Roasted malt flavors with a good deal of lactose sweetness (could also be residual sugars) kick things off. Robust coffee flavors join in shortly thereafter and are followed by dark chocolate flavors lurking in the background. The coffee and roasted malt flavors carry through to a sollidy bitter finish leaving coffee flavors lingering on the palate.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a smooth thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is also very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have another.

Overall I thought this was the second-best coffee-themed milk stout I've had behind only Depth Charge (although to be honest there aren't many in the style). It may be a bit of homerism, but regardless this beer is certainly worth a shot.

750 ml purple was topped bottle into a couple of snifters. Big thanks go to Stakem for sharing this guy.

Pours black, with 2 fingers of rich dark mocha head. This maintains a sudsy ½ finger or so of froth, leaving back a robust cascade of rich spotty lacing. Espresso jumps right out in the aroma, with some definite backing lactic character and more malty notes of cocoa and some sweeter molasses. There is just a touch of light ripe citrus here as well which helps round out the nose.

The taste is flavorful mix of coffee, green citrus (with maybe even a smidge of darker fruit as well), and then both cocoa and lactic flavors that really give this a smooth milk chocolate feel. This malt, lactose, citrus, and coffee flavors are all in balance and combine to give this a rich twang on the finish that lingers with a dry roasted feel and some lingering stickiness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a touch fuller; with a soft creaminess that puts just some light sharpness on the tongue during each sip. For 10% ABV this is just ridiculously smooth and I never would have guessed just how high this was while we were drinking it. Fantastic!

This was nice, being a big and chewy Imperial Milk Stout with a lot of delicious character to it and a super smooth drinkability that really kept this accessible for the size. I’m glad I got a chance at this one. Thanks again Adam!

What is up with the wax on the bottle. Hard as a rock and difficult to remove. Black in color with a large tan head that had excellant retention before settling to a thick cap. Heavy spotty lacing is left on the glass.

Plenty of lactose in the aroma. A lot of mocha coffee as well. Roasted malt rounds out the impressive aroma.

A little led down by the flavor. Has a burnt milk aftertaste that is a little off-putting. Elements of coffee, chocolate, roasted malt, and subtle smoke. Quite a bit of burnt bitterness that balances the sweet lactose. No sign of alcohol.

As good as a stout body could be. Thick, chewy, and a luxurious smooth texture. Exceptinal quality.

Other than a small flavor quibble, an exceptional, double milk stout. The high ABV will slow consumption and limit drinkability.

Pours a reddish brown color, looks dark but light shines through as the glass is emptied. A tan head quickly appears and fades leaving no trace behind. Aromas are of stale coffee, burnt malt, and carmalized malt. Flavor is nice, lots of roast, coffee flavor is strong but not acidic or overpowering. Malt profile is very dry and burnt, the lactose lingers on the finish with coffee and a mild bitterness. Solid brew, glad I drank it now, this one won't age for much longer.

Chilled for about 20 minutes and then poured into a Darkness snifter. Charlie, you're a badass.

A - Pours black with a nice light-tan head. Retention appears to be very good, as the frothy head seems to stick around for a bit until it fades into thick lacing. Sticks nicely to the side of the glass.

S - Sweet coffee/espresso. Hints of chocolate come through. The aroma screams for the beer to be consumed.

T - Sweet chocolate and coffee flavor with the lacto-milk backbone pretty evident. Meets and complements the espresso well. Espresso finish is very evident. It isn't a weak Maxwell House flavor. Slight sweetness comes through again. I think the sweetness in the finish helps keep the coffee flavor from falling off.

M - Creamy and slightly silky. Although I would say that it complements the beer well, I would prefer for it to be a little thicker for the particular flavors coming through.

O - This is a great Milk Stout. I've heard that the coffee is actually fading at this point, which makes me have some questions about how it was upon release.